Bob was a gardener and he had no work for a few months. One day he went out to look for a job. While he was walking in the street, he saw a poster at the gate of a big restaurant. It said the restaurant needed to hire（雇佣） a man who could grow flowers and trees well. Bob was so pleased that he went straight to answer it. There Bob was told to go back and get his old working clothes to the office. Bob did so.
The boss looked over his working clothes carefully and then decided to let Bob have the job. Bob asked the boss why his working clothes were so important. The boss answered with a smile, "Oh, young man, your working clothes are all with patches(补丁) on the knees. You know, I have dismissed（解雇） two men these days. They had working clothes with patches on the buttocks(臀部). They were too lazy."
【小题1】When the boss saw Bob, he ________.

My father had a small business, employing（雇用）fifteen people at any given time. We sold all kinds of milk products. I had worked for my father since I was young,      did all seven kids in my family.

One day, we had a new employee, Debbie, who wanted to work in the store for the summer. She had     done this type of work before, but planned to give it her all.

On her first day, Debbie made just about every mistake in the    . She charged the wrong prices for items, she gave the wrong bag of food to the wrong customer, and she    and broke a half gallon of milk. The torture（折磨）of watching her fighting her way was too much for me. I went into my father’s office and said, “Please go out there and put her out of her misery（苦恼）.” I      him to walk right into the store and let her go away from our store.

Since my father’s office was situated within view of the sales counter, he had surely      what I was talking about. He sat,     , for a moment. Then he got up from his desk and walked over to Debbie, who was standing behind the counter.

“Debbie,” he said, as he put his hand      on her shoulder. “I have been watching you all day, and I saw how you     Mrs. Forbush.”

Debbie’s face turned red and tears began to     in her eyes as she tried hard to remember Mrs. Forbush from the many women she had given the wrong change to or drop off her milk onto the floor.

My father continued, “I’ve never seen Mrs. Forbush be so      to any one of my employees before. You really knew how to deal with her. I am sure that she is going to want you to    her every time she comes in. Keep up the good work.”

In return for being a wise and kind employer, my father got a trusty and hardworking employee for fifteen years … and a friend for life.

1.A. unless                      B. neither                    C. as                  D. nor

2.A. already               B. yet                         C. never                   D. ever

3.A. vision                  B. book              C. spirit             D. position

4.A. dropped         B. lost                    C. touched        D. missed

5.A. encouraged                 B. forced                    C. expected              D. influenced

6.A. followed                B. seen                            C. guessed      D. heard

7.A. careful                  B. upset                       C. angry                     D. thoughtful

8.A. gently                      B. seriously                      C. lightly              D. directly

9.A. accepted           B. agreed                           C. treated                 D. considered

10.A. run               B. well                              C. appear                      D. rise

11.A. funny                 B. hopeless                         C. rude                        D. polite

12.A. wait on              B. look after                        C. stand for                 D. depend on

Jason and Harry joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. They both worked very hard.

After several years, the boss made Harry sales manager but Jason   31  a salesman. One day Jason could not take it anymore. He handed in his resignation letter (辞职信) to the boss and complained that the boss did not   32  hard-working employees, but only raised those   33 tried to please him. He thought that it was really   34  .

In order to help Jason to realize the   35  between him and Harry, the boss asked Jason to do the   36  --- "Go and find out if there is anyone selling watermelons in the market." Charlie went, returned and only said, "Yes." The boss asked, "How much per kg?" Charlie went back to the market to ask and returned to   37  , "$ 12 per kg."

The boss told Jason that he would ask Harry the  38  question. Harry went, returned and said, "Boss, only one person selling watermelons. $12 per kg, $ 100 for 10 kg. He has a total of 340 melons. On the table are 58 melons, and every melon weighs about 15 kg,   39 from the South two days ago. They are fresh, red, and of good   40 ."

Jason was   41  and he realized the difference between himself and Harry. He decided not to leave but to learn from Harry.

My dear friends, you know, a more   42  person is more observant(观察力敏锐的), thinks more and understands in   43  . For the same matter, he sees several years ahead,   44  you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, so how could you   45 ?

Think: how far have you seen ahead in your life? How thoughtful are you?

Today Chinese people can enjoy longer and more holidays, such as the two“Gold Week Holidays” — the Spring Festival, National Day and Mid-autumn Festival and so on. They have more time to travel. Rising incomes(收入)also make it possible for ordinary(普通的) Chinese people to travel abroad .
Zhang Haitao, a middle school student in Shanghai will go to Japan with his parents during the Spring Festival. “Overseas(海外) touring has always been a dream of mine ,”Zhang Haitao said. “ How will you go to Japan, by air or by ship?” I asked him. “By ship. Traveling by ship is more enjoyable than a rushed trip by air.”“But a plane is much faster than a ship. ”“Yes. but you can’t see much during the flight while a sea trip will make you happier, because you can see waves, islands and even big fish.”
"Will you travel at your own expense(费用) ?"
"Certainly. Though my father’s job is to recycle rubbish, I’m very proud of him. He has saved lots of money in the last three years. What’s more, he has made a contribution（贡献）to protecting our environment.”
【小题1】Now it is possible for the Chinese people to travel abroad（国外）because of  _______

Alexis Rocha is a 13-year-old boy from California, US. He weighs 147 pounds (67 kg). But six months ago, he weighed more than 202 pounds (91 kg). How did he lose all that weight in only half a year?
“One day, I was surprised to find that I weighed about 200 pounds,” Rocha says. “I thought I had to do something.”
Rocha is from a boxing (拳击) family—his father and two older brothers are professional boxers. So he decided to start boxing. He began with simple exercises, like sit-ups and push-ups (俯卧撑). Then Rocha started jogging(慢跑). “No kid likes running,” he says. “I don’t want to do it, either, but I have no choice but to keep on.”
Months later, Rocha joined a boxing club in his city. He is always the first kid at the club to begin exercising, and the last to leave with sweat (汗水) on his face. Every day he boxes for about three hours.
“Rocha works very hard,” says his coach, Hector Lopez. “It’s surprising to see him lose the pounds so quickly. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20 years of coaching.”
Rocha is very happy with his weight now. There is a family photo in his room from 18 months ago. “Each time I look at the photo, I laugh at myself. I was so big back then,” Rocha says. “I look 100 times thinner and 1,000 times stronger now.”
【小题1】How much weight did Rocha lose in six months?
A. At least 24 pounds.     B. At least 30 pounds.　　    C. At least 55 pounds.
【小题2】 Rocha said he had no choice but to keep on running because_______.
A. he liked running very much
B. he wanted to be thin and strong
C. he wanted to be a professional boxer
【小题3】What makes Coach Hector Lopez surprised?
A. Rocha lost weight so quickly.
B. Rocha was so fat 18 months ago.
C. Rocha comes from a boxing family.
【小题4】What’s the correct order of the following sentences?
a. He did some sit-ups and push-ups.
b. He lost the pounds quickly.
c. He joined a boxing club.
d. He began running.
f. He boxed for about three hours every day.
A. a-d-c-f-b     B. d-a-f-c-b     C. a-d-f-c-b 
【小题5】The writer mainly wants to tell us _______.
A. Rocha is a hardworking boy
B. it is important to get exercise
C. everything is possible if you work hard